LinkedIn stung by password theft and iOS app data bungle

Professional networking website LinkedIn has run into a pair of thorny privacy issues, after reports emerged that millions of account credentials had been leaked, while researchers also accused its iPhone app of surreptitiously snaffling users' data.

According to Norwegian website Dagens, around 6.5 million encrypted LinkedIn passwords were recently posted to a Russian hacker site. Many of those hacked passwords have now been decrypted.

Linked said in a Twitter posting that it was investigating the reports.

Our team is currently looking into reports of stolen passwords. Stay tuned for more.

— LinkedIn News (@LinkedInNews) June 6, 2012

Reporters also contacted the firm for any update but had received no information at the time of publication.

Meanwhile, a pair of researchers with Israeli firm Skycure revealed details of a data-sharing issue with LinkedIn's iOS app.

Yair Amit and his colleague Adi Sharabani found the app sent users' calendar information to the company's servers, without warning.

The problem affects users that enable the feature which allows them to view their iOS calendar within the app.

“The app doesn’t only send the participant lists of meetings; it also sends out the subject, location, time of meeting and more importantly personal meeting notes, which tend to contain highly sensitive information such as conference call details and passcodes,” the researchers wrote on a blog.

The researchers said they informed LinkedIn about the potential risk of obtaining user details without permission, but the issue had not yet been fixed.

The mobile app feature had been intended to provide a better calendar service for its users, LinkedIn's mobile product manager Joff Redfern wrote in a company blog.

“We do not store any calendar information on our servers.” he said. “We do not share or use your calendar data for purposes other than matching it with relevant LinkedIn profiles.”

LinkedIn has promised to update its app, removing the capability for calendar note information to be uploaded to its servers

Thursday, June 07, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

BlackBerry Music Gateway goes on sale, brings a little NFC into your life

RIM showed off the BlackBerry Music Gateway with the promise of a June release, and it's clearly not wasting any time: the first of the month has seen the tiny audio bridge go on sale. It'll set you back $50, but you'll get a conduit for music from any Bluetooth-packing device, whether or not it has that signature 7-dot logo on the back. 

The extra-special BlackBerry affection comes through NFC support, where equipped phones like the Bold 9930 can pair faster through a friendly tap. Buying straight from the source will lead to a one- to two-week wait, but if you're looking for the most polished way to share your musical tastes from a BlackBerry or PlayBook, it's likely worth being patient.

Saturday, June 02, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Poor quality of service: NATCOMS seeks compensation for subscribers

The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for imposing fine on Telecoms Operators over poor quality service.

The association which made the position known in a statement gave kudos to NCC for the regular monitoring of service quality.

National President of the group, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo said that subscribers are demanding that the N1.17Billion fine should not be paid to the federal government, but to subscribers as they are not the direct sufferers of the poor quality service, questioning why NCC should raise money in form of fine for the federal government at the expense of subscribers who actually suffered monumental loss as a result of poor quality service rendered by the operators.

”We agree with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Standards and Key Performance Indicators (K.P.I’s) as the industry regulator that there was need to fine the operators for poor service delivery, but the fine should not be used to enrich the Federal Government, it should be shared among subscribers who have actually paid for services not rendered or haphazardly rendered,” he posited.

Saturday, June 02, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Google accuses Microsoft and Nokia of creating patent trolls to weaken Android

Google has accused Microsoft and Nokia of colluding in an attempt to artificially raise the price of mobile phones. The search giant filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) stating Microsoft and Nokia conspired together to use their patents against competitors and drive up the cost of headsets. "Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that side-step promises both companies have made," a Google spokesperson told V3.

 "They should be held accountable, and we hope our complaint spurs others to look into these practices." Google believes that Microsoft and Nokia entered into agreements with companies like Canadian copyright licensing firm Mosaid Technologies in an attempt to covertly enforce their patent holdings and destabilise the mobile phone market. By giving their patents to third parties, Microsoft and Nokia could perceivably, and legally, charge competitors for the use of their patents through proxy.

 Google argued that Mosaid acquired patents on behalf of Microsoft and Nokia in an attempt to enforce their copyrights in the future. Mosaid has yet to officially do anything with the patents. But Google argued Mosaid plans to and said its complaint is a preemptive strike out of fear that Microsoft and Nokia will enforce patents by proxy and make Android OS unappealing to headset manufactures. Google points to a deal Mosaid made with Nokia in 2011 as proof of collusion. 

The deal included the transfer of 1,200 Nokia-related wireless patents to Mosaid from a company called Core Wireless. Google contends that Mosaid plans to use those recently acquired patents against competitors. "Mosaid believes that revenues from licensing, enforcing and monetising this wireless portfolio will surpass the company's total revenues since its formation in 1975," Mosaid wrote in a press release for the purchase in 2011. 

The complaint comes in the wake of a busy period in software patent litigation. Oracle recently lost a case against Google over the infringement of their Java software platform. While Apple and Samsung failed to come to a compromise over their patent feud.

Friday, June 01, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Samsung Galaxy S3 launch fails to attract iPhone-like crowds

Samsung launched its Galaxy S3 handset at its Westfield Stratford store on Tuesday evening, but the firm failed to match rival Apple in the launch event sweepstakes. V3 was in attendance at the S3 launch event, where Samsung's crowd fell short of the standard of Apple, which saw thousands gather outside stores for the launch of the iPhone 4S. 

Busy staff at Samsung's flagship store were unable to provide exact numbers, but we'd say there were around 300 to 400 Galaxy S3 buyers patiently queuing. A Samsung staffer did tell us, however, that the queue started to form at 2pm - just three hours before the Galaxy S III went on sale. In contrast, the first iPhone 4S buyers started queueing two weeks ahead of the smartphone's launch. 

It's good there weren't people camping outside the Samsung store for days on end though, as we witnessed the shop turning away those who had pre-ordered the blue Galaxy S3 handset. It might not have matched Apple on numbers, but Samsung certainly managed to outdo its rival when it came to treating its fans well.

 During the two hours that we queued outside the Samsung store, we were given ice cream, cupcakes, a personal magic show and even champagne and canapés, so we didn't much mind the wait. Check back later this week for our Samsung Galaxy S3 review.

Thursday, May 31, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Samsung hits market with thinnest notebook

SAMSUNG Electronics West Africa has unveiled its Notebook Series 9 which was manufactured in 2011.

Director IT, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mrs Chioma Iwuchukwu-Nweke, said the Series 9 Notebook is customized for consumers striving for top quality items with great design, built with Aerospace materials for durability and boasts the world’s thinnest and most compact chassis.

According to her, its unique design and innovative engineering breaks all common perceptions of premium notebook.

“The Samsung Series 9 Notebook is a premium notebook for the user that wants outstanding design and performance” she said.

With the Samsung, Series 9, Iwuchukwu-Nweke said power and performance are assured with the powerful Intel® Core ™ i7 processor, 6GB memory and 256G SSD.

As a fast solution, the Series 9 is said to have capable of booting in 15 seconds, Fast Start ensures a 3-seconds wake-up it has a Wifi Auto Connection with battery lasting up to 7.7hours. It comes with 13.3″ Bright HD screen.

The auto-sensing screen and backlit keyboard adjusts itself to match the surrounding lighting conditions, providing optimum brightness for maximum ease of use, even in particularly dark or bright environments.

For the Channel Manager IT, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Folasade Oyelayo, the Samsung novel Notebook is available to all our special customers at Samsung Brandshops.

Friday, February 03, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

HP coughs up close to $47 million on CEO change

HP's former CEO Leo Apotheker

For Hewlett-Packard, fiscal 2011 was the year of two CEOs--Leo Apotheker and Meg Whitman--and it cost the company dearly.In its proxy statement filed today, HP outlined the compensation packages for its relatively new CEO and the parting gift for Apotheker.

The damage? Whitman took a salary of $1 for fiscal 2011 and option awards worth $16.15 million. Toss in other competition and the grand total comes to $16.52 million rounded. And then there's Apotheker, who wrestled with strategy, communications, and a decision on whether to spin off HP's PC unit. Simply put, the Apotheker reign was a disaster.

However, that disaster was $30.41 million in total compensation. Apotheker landed $1.15 million in salary, $6.4 million as a bonus, $17.66 million in stock awards, and another $5.2 million in other compensation. Apotheker made a bundle for just a few months' work.

Add it up and you're at a $46.9 million tab for two CEOs in a year. And that's simplifying the equation a bit. Interim CEO Cathy Lesjak also made out nicely. She had $11 million in total compensation, but that's worth it given Lesjak held the fort while HP was going through a messy transition.

As for the footnotes in HP's compensation tale, Apotheker's separation agreement deserves a callout. HP said:

On September 22, 2011, Mr. Apotheker terminated as President and Chief Executive Officer of HP, and HP and Mr. Apotheker subsequently entered into a Separation Agreement and Release (the "Separation Agreement"). The Separation Agreement confirms that Mr. Apotheker would receive certain compensation and benefits under the terms of his then-existing employment agreement, including $7.2 million in cash severance payments (subject to his continued compliance with certain non-compete and non-solicitation provisions) and accelerated vesting of 156,000 shares of restricted stock. The Separation Agreement also provides for Mr. Apotheker to receive a fiscal 2011 bonus of $2.4 million, reflecting his nearly 11 months of service with HP, and certain relocation and repatriation benefits to assist him in returning his family to France or Belgium, along with certain financial protections in connection with the sale of his California residence. In addition, Mr. Apotheker retains the right to receive future payouts under two of the three PRU awards granted to him in connection with his commencement of employment, subject to the company's satisfaction of applicable performance conditions. Mr. Apotheker's third PRU award was canceled.

Friday, February 03, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Smartphone shipments top all PCs for the first time

All the PCs in the world couldn't compete with the popularity of smartphones--literally.

IT research firm Canalys released its shipment estimates this morning for each country for the final quarter of 2011. When it tallied the annual numbers and did some quick cross-referencing it found vendors shipped 488 million smartphones in 2011, compared to 415 million client PCs during the same period. The definition of client PCs in this case includes not just laptops and desktops, but also Netbooks and "pads" or tablets, which were the fastest growing segment by far.

But even with the successful launch of the Kindle Fire and strong iPad sales worldwide, the 63 million tablets shipped in 2011 only makes a dent in the nearly half billion smartphones (487.7 million, to be exact) sent out last year.

"Smart phone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone. In the space of a few years, smart phones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition," said Chris Jones, Canalys vice president and principal analyst, in an e-mailed statement.

The Canalys tally also echoes other recent reports that put Apple on top in the smartphone and PC race, with shipments of 37.0 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads, and 5.2 million Macs in the final quarter. That iPhone figure destroys a quarterly shipment record previously held by Nokia, and Apple also took the title of top vendor by annual shipments away from Nokia for the first time after nearly doubling the number of iPhones it sent out last year.

The firm also notes that Samsung finished strong at the end of 2011 thanks to the Galaxy S II, and even without counting its Nexus phones, which Canalys categorizes as Google phones. It also makes the point that while many in the public and the tech press have had fun poo-pooing Nokia and RIM in the last year, both sentiments may be overblown. It says Nokia's new Windows Phone Lumia devices are well-designed and give reason for optimism, and there's no reason to think that RIM couldn't also pull a new trick out of its hat this year.

"There is no denying that RIM has had a tough year," said Canalys Principal Analyst Pete Cunningham. "But when you consider that it is transitioning to a new platform it has done well to increase volume while remaining profitable...However, 2012 will become even more competitive and RIM needs BlackBerry 10 devices out there to ensure it retains its status as a major player."

But Canalys warns that the global smartphone party may not continue apace in 2012, with more makers looking to move into selling more higher-end and profitable phones rather than focusing on volume and conquering the lower end of the market.

Friday, February 03, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More